A colloquial name for the order is "praying mantises", because of the typical "prayer-like" stance, although the term is often mis-spelled as "preying mantis." The word mantis is Greek for "prophet" or "fortune teller."
Today I carpooled with a praying mantis. I adjusted my rearview mirror and was pleasantly surprised when I spotted the insect roaming slowly across the back window. She was long in length and very pretty. We drove to work together and then I took some pictures with my camera phone (I was disappointed that I didn’t have my camera with me). I carefully assisted the insect out of the car. It didn't take long for me to entice her to walk onto my hand. She must have enjoyed being there because I couldn’t remove her when I tried to place her in a bush. She gently started to crawl up my arm, but eventually I was able to persuade her to cling to a bush in the parking lot.
It was a great way to start the day!
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